Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have rekindled their alliance on immigration reform, taking some early steps to test the political will for addressing the contentious issue this year.

Their call list hasn’t focused so much on House and Senate members who’ve been reliable pro-immigration votes in the past. Instead, they’re looking to a strange-bedfellows mix of conservative and liberal constituencies that can provide a “safety net” of support, as Graham put it, once the issue heats up.

“It’s in the infant stage,” Graham told POLITICO. “I don’t know what the political appetite is to do something.”

Oh, we have a political appetite to do something, Lindsey, just not what you want to do. We aren’t interested in discussing anything sort of pathway to citizenship until the borders are secured. Period. And, as we saw with the Arizona illegal immigration issue, most Americans prefer cracking down on illegals, not giving them a pathway to citizenship.

But, even if they could manage to get something passed in the Senate (remember, the DREAM Act failed by 5 votes), it will never make it through the GOP controlled house.

Democrats believe the November elections put a bit of a scare into Republicans, who failed to capture the Senate in part because of strong Latino turnout in California, Nevada, Colorado and Washington. If the GOP hopes to win the White House in 2012, it will need to reverse that trend.

Really? The GOP had a bit of a scare? Seriously? Any Republican who goes on to push “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” should be the one who is scared about being promoted to “unemployed political hack.”